Master Class: Tyne Daly to star in McNally revival

Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) have announced that the first play of their 2011 - 2012 season will see Tony and Emmy Award winner Tyne Daly returning to Broadway to star as 'Maria Callas' in a new production of Terrence McNally's award-winning play Master Class, directed by Stephen Wadsworth.

The revival will open at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 21 Jun 2011, following previews from 24 May, and play a limited enagement through to 24 Jul 2011.

Terrence McNally's award-winning play about Maria Callas takes us to one of her famous Master Classs where, late in her own career, she challenges the next generation to make the same sacrifices and dare to rise to the same heights she did, making her the most celebrated, the most reviled and the most controversial singer of her times.

Additional casting and the creative team for the Broadway production is still to be announced.

Daly returns to MTC after appearing in the world premiere production of David Lindsay-Abaire's 'Rabbit Hole' which garnered her a Tony nomination. She received a Tony Award for her performance in the 1989 revival of 'Gypsy.' Daly is best known for her portrayal of 'Detective Mary Beth Lacey' in "Cagney and Lacey," for which she received four Emmy Awards. In addition, she received Emmys for "Christy," and "Judging Amy."

Daly previously portrayed the role of 'Maria Callas' in an acclaimed production at Washington's Kennedy Center last spring that ran from 25 Mar - 18 Apr 2010, which was also directed by Stephen Wadsworth. The Kennedy production also starred Jeremy Cohen as 'Manny,' Laquita Mitchell as Second Soprano 'Sharon', Ta'u Pupu'a as Tenor 'Tony', and Alexandra Silber as First Soprano 'Sophie'.

The Broadway premiere of Master Class played at the John Golden Theatre from 26 Oct 1995 - 29 Jun 1997, and starred Zoe Caldwell as 'Maria Callas' in a Tony Award winning performance. Like its upcoming revival, the Broadway premiere also played at the Kennedy Center before arriving on Broadway.

Manhattan Theatre Club's previous productions of McNally's work include 'Frankie and Johnnie in the Clair de Lune' (1987), 'The Lisbon Traviata '(1989), 'Lips Together, Teeth Apart' (1991), which became one of the longest-running hits in MTC's history, and 'Love, Valour, Compassion!' (1994), which transferred to Broadway and received the Tony Award for Best Play.